Flames of Fire
by maireadnesbitt
Summary: * The stars come out at sunrise.  *
1. Prologue

Prologue

The last thing I remember was the glisten in Edoch Johnson's pale blue eyes. I could see the reflection of flames in his eyes reflecting into mine. I wanted to cry, but I had no tears left. I wanted to run, but had no strength. I was forced to lie where I was, watching as my home went up in flames, and the life I knew burned to a crisp.

My hand fumbled to the chain around my neck. A small locket of a sun with a moon engraved with immense detail hung from the silver chain. It was the only possession I had left. My mother had told me when I was a little girl, that if trouble should ever come, that the answers to my troubles would be written in the stars. Whatever that was supposed to mean, I thought to myself. My head pounded, and I looked back up at the dark figure riding away in the distance.

"One day I'll get you," I muttered under my breath, before being overcome by the fumes of thick smoke and fatigue.

A/N: hey guys! So I haven't written in a realllyyyy long time, but this just came to me...so yeah. Reviews would be helpful, no flames though! If I get some critique and good comments, I'll continue writing! Thanks!

~mairead~


	2. Chapter 1 Out of the Mist

Chapter 1- out of the mist

He had green eyes. That's what I saw at first, until vision began to clear. Then I noticed his eyes were actually bands of green, hazel, and yellow. I had never seen eyes like his before. They enticed and enchanted me.

"Ughhhh..." I moaned as I attempted to get up. He looked over at me from the chair that had been placed near the bed. My attempt was a failed attempt as I soon realized that every move I made sent a spiral of searing pain throughout my body.

"Owwww..." I groaned, helpless. The boy had moved his chair so he was now seated beside my pillow. "OWWW!" I just about screamed as he gently tried to move me into an upright position.

I looked around the room. There wasn't much to it. There was a small, old, worn, wooden table placed in the corner, where a dirty, glass window provided most of the light in the room. On the table were many sheets of scattered papers and a single melted candle pressed into a holder.

I looked back over at the boy, who I found was almost creepishly staring at my hair.

"What?" I snapped, almost too harshly.

"You have...you have...you're a..." he stuttered, causing me to lose my patience and start my blood boiling. I guess now would be a good time to mention that I have a waterfall of loose-curly, fiery-red/copper hair. And being a redhead, my temper is short-lived, as is my patience.

"Spit it out, boy!" I practically screamed.

"You're a...," he paused," red head."

"Yeah? So? You're point?"

He raised an eyebrow at me as if I were supposed to know what it meant. Then after an awkward moment of staring at me, he finally dropped the expression.

"I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot," he paused, and then continued, "My name is Johnathan. Johnathan Malen." I shook his outreached hand, and really looked at him for the first time. Besides his multi-colored eyes, he had mid-length, straight, black hair that curled out at the ends. He was wearing a simple black, long sleeved shirt that complimented his muscular torso.

"I'm Lily," I said, taking his hand," Lily Chadwick." I blushed as he flashed me a smile.

"Well, now that I know your name, do you want to tell me what you were doing wandering around in the woods at 2:00am looking like you had just come out of a battle or something?"

My brain racked to try and remember what had happened. I didn't even remember walking around after passing out. All I could remember were those eyes. The eyes that would forever haunt and torment me. Their pale-blueness leaving a scar on my brain that could never go away.

"I don't know," I finally answered," all I remember is Edohc Johnson and fire. There was a big fire. My family was killed...or at least I'm lead to believe they were."

"Johnson? Fire? What?"

I quickly filled him in on everything that I remembered. Which wasn't much, but it was something. In return, he told me what he knew.

He had been awoken by what sounded like a thunder-strike. The time read 1:34am, so he rolled over and ignored it. But a second bolt struck, this time closer. He crawled out of bed to see what was the matter, but by doing so, he noticed the sun and moon were perfectly aligned, but only for a split second, for when he blinked again, it was gone. That's when he heard me. Apparently I had crashed into a tree, knocked myself unconscious, and fallen over. He immediately rushed me inside to be taken cars of.

Tears filled my eyes as I listened to him. My hands were once again fumbling with my necklace.

"What's that?" he asked, gesturing to my piece of jewelry.

"Oh, this?" I held it up," It's something my father gave me apparently when I was born. I'm not really sure what it is."

Johnathan stared at me. And then shook his head, muttering something under his breathe.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't reply. Instead he fumbled through his pocket, ultimately producing a thin silver chain. On the end was a small circular locket or something.

" What's that?" I asked.

" Do you know who your father is?" he asked, a wry smile drawn across his face.

A/N: hey peeps! So there's chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it. : D please review. Reviews make me happy, which provokes me to write more. : D

~mairead~


	3. Chapter 2 Johnathan

Chapter 2- Johnathan

He fumbled with the token for a minute, running his thumb over the top, feeling the engraved pattern.

"What is it?" I finally barked at him.

He put the token away, "never mind...it's not for you to know yet. Anyways, we should probably focus on getting you back to where you belong."

I stared at him with an unbending smirk on my face.

"I'm not moving until you tell me the bleep is going on. You're hiding something from me."

He paused for a moment, and then walked over to the table. The candle had almost completely melted, but he pushed it aside and fumbled through the conglomeration of papers.

" Yes, I am hiding something from you," he finally remarked, " But you already know what it is, you just don't remember it."

" Thank you Captain Obvious." I mumbled as I placed my locket around my neck again.

" I heard that! But it doesn't matter...where did you say this Edohc Johnson was heading?"

" I dunno...why?"

" Because I think we should pursue him. Catch him if we can, and bring him to justice." he glanced back at me, holding several sheets of papers in his arms.

" Well that sounds splendid, except I can't exactly move right now. And I'm not about to go tromping about, allowing myself to face searing pain in order to irrevocably receive more."

He laughed and strolled over to me, looking all tall and mighty.

" Which is why I have this," he produced a small vile of something, " nectar. The drink of the gods. Powerful stuff. A few drops and you're good as new!"

" Ummm...nectar?" I was skeptical of his so called 'god potion.' it looked more like a bottle of some chemistry experiment gone seriously wrong, and attempted to be diluted down with too much iodine. But I didn't have much of a choice at this point. It was either stay here and be lonely in pain, or take a swig of the creepish potion in hopes for better results. I couldn't be much worse off, could I?

Johnathan handed me a cup of tea with a few drops of the nectar in it. At first I felt nothing, but just as I was beginning to doubt it's effects, my body suddenly felt like it was about to explode.

"THIS IS SUPPOSE TO HELP?" I screamed, not able to move.

" Chill, give it a minute to work it's magic." Johnathan said so nonchalantly with a smile that I vowed to myself if I lived through this, I'd punch him so hard he'd have to be the one sucking down this vile nectar.

After what seemed to be an eternity of raging pain, the wave of painfulness lifted, and all that was left was a headache that made me want to cry.

" Ow." was all I could utter.

" Ready?" Johnathan had a bag slung around his body, and the papers rolled up tucked under his armpit.

" I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I threw the covers off and slid off the bed. Surprisingly, the pain had gone. I was able to function again without feeling like every movement was a death wish.

" Oh yeah. One last thing, " Johnathan held out a bundle of cloth, " you might want to change into something decent."

" What are these?" I asked, staring at the bundle.

" Real clothes. You're going to need a decent pair of pants to walk in. Dresses don't cut it in my world. I'll meet me outside when you've changed." he left, closing the door behind him.

Quickly I slid out of my dress, and put the pants on. They were a bit big, but he had left a belt with them, and I immediately put that to use. The shirt was long sleeved and quite baggy, but overall, the outfit was suitable and would make do for now, until I could obtain a real set of clothes.

I met Johnathan outside, as he had ordered.

" Ready?"

" I guess I'm ready as I'll ever be."

" Good let's go then."

A/N: Heyyyy! So this was a boring chapter...sorry. But it's late and I'm sick. Inspiration refuses to come. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. I'll try and update fast. So I'd love reviews! And add me to your alerts/favorites!

~mairead


	4. Chapter 3 The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 3- The Road to Nowhere

We didn't talk much. Not that Johnathan seemed like much of a talker, but usually when you're stranded alone with a stranger, some conversation might be exchanged. The air was moist, but the breeze was nippy. I pulled the sleeved of my shirt over my fingertips and crossed my arms.

" So... Johnathan." I began as I caught up to him.

He seemed unaffected by my words.

I cleared my throat and began again. " So, Johnathan. I've told you a lot about my past. I think I deserve to hear I bit of yours." I looked at him, trying to make eye contact, but he continued to look forward.

We walked for what I gauged to be about a mile and a bit before he stopped.

" What is it?" I asked.

" The sun will be setting soon, I don't want to be walking at night. My senses aren't as strong. Can you make it another hour?"

" Yes, but the sun won't be setting for another three hours at least," I pointed at the glowing ball of fury in the sky, " look at its position."

Johnathan look at me for the first time since that morning. He had a curious look on his face, as if he knew something that he didn't wan to tell me. Not surprising. I was still. Stranger. I wouldn't want to tell a stranger all my secrets. Then again, I was curious.

" What?" I questioned.

He was looking directly into my eyes, making me feel uncomfortable. I quickly glanced away.

" Nothing" he said slowly, " I'm just not use to a girl being able to know the exact time of sunset."

"My mother taught me. We had an observatory before my house burned. I would clock the time every night before I charted the stars."

Night fell just as I had said. Two hours from the moment, almost on the dot. We had set up camp, well our makeshift camp of a sheet strung between two trees and a small fire for warmth. I placed another few branches on the fire and sat across from Johnathan. He was twirling patterns in the ground with a spare twig.

" You asked me about my past earlier." he began out of nowhere.

" I was just trying to make conv-"

" You do deserve to know. Not all of it, but some."

I walked around and sat next to him.

" I was born in Sweden to two parents who loved me more than anything. I had two older brothers, Emmet and Samuel. Emmet joined the army when I was thirteen, and Samuel went to Switzerland to study medicine. I missed them, but I still had my parents. They took me fishing for my birthday that year. The day started off beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and the bright sun up above."

I could see where his story was headed. He was drawing harsh scars into the earth now with his stick.

" We fished all morning, and went inside the bottom of the boat for sandwiches and cake. Our carefree attitude was interrupted by a wave that hit the side of the boat. Dad went up on deck to make sure nothing had been knocked off. But he never came back down. Mum and I went up. There was no sign of dad anywhere." he had small tears beginning to form in his eyes.

" The sky was no longer blue. But a violent shade of grey-green. The waves were rocking the boat with such force..." he shook his head, and cupped his head in his hands.

" Its ok. I understand," I touched his arm to comfort him. But he snapped his hands away and his eyes had a look of hate in them.

" The boat capsized. I remember floating underwater for what seemed like an eternity. I saw my mother float by me. Her face was so pale and her body so calm. She was dead. I swam after her, and grabbed onto her. But the weight was too much. I had to let go. I gulped air when I reached the surface.

I was in the middle of open water. Rain was falling and I was alone." he stopped. And looked at me.

" What happened next?"

" I woke up in the hospital with a strange man at the end of my bed. He had bright red hair and pale blue eyes."

I thought immediately of Edohc Johnson. Those eyes.

" What did he say?" I gulped.

" Nothing. He just looked at me blankly and then left. I later asked the nurse who he was, but she didn't know." he stood up and walked over to the tent.

" My uncle..he found me and brought me home. I lived with him until his death." he threw a newspaper in front of me. The headline was large and the message was clear. It read: " Man murdered! Deaths linked?" The picture underneath the headline was of him. I recognized him immediately. The eyes. Always the same.

" What does it mean by 'deaths linked?'"

Johnathan grinned at me. " That's another story. But we'll save that one for another day."

OoOoOo 

A/N: Hey peeps! Sorry it took me so long to update. School has been crazy. But it's summer now...so more chapters hopefully? Anyways, don't forget to review. Happiness to all. :D

~MN


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